Today felt like I was back in the American again. My day started off pretty normal to my current morning routine, wake up, eat some mslooqs (hard-boiled eggs), and navigate the streets to the CCCL. I take a new path everyday. After class a couple of my friends and I went and bought a basketball to play with at the courts. The basketball courts are beautiful, right on the water with a nice breeze to cool off your sweat and sun beaming down on you to give you that perfect tan. It was nice to participate in an activity I am familiar with, however we all got schooled by a 5’3″ guy with a backwards hat with homecourt advantage. When we finished playing basketball we headed down to our new favorite cafe facing the beach. I ordered a rich, dense, chocolate brownie with ice cream – they really know how to attract Americans. After a stomach aching walk back home I ate an curious combination of rice and cinnamon with walnuts inside. The flavors oddly meshed very well together.
I found the Anou lecture to be incredibly informational and something I wish I had learned about earlier. The percentage of revenue women artisans make compared to the prices their work sells for is a pretty alarming (4% of sold price), yet unfortunately not surprising, statistic. Anou is a cooperative run by the women artisans themselves, making it super unique throughout Morocco and Africa as a whole. Many women can not read or write, so they are limited to where they are able to sell their products. The inability to use marketplaces such as Etsy is a privilege that Americans, myself included, never truly takes into consideration. Moroccan rug marketing is blasted all over the internet, and was the one souvenior piece I knew I could not live without. I did not realize that the men selling the rugs throughout the streets are not truly the creators of the pieces.
The lecture also made me realize how little I normally think about where the products I buy actually come from or how they are made. In the United States, consumer culture is built heavily around mass production, so most people rarely interact with the actual creators behind products. Unlike countries like Morocco, where handmade goods and artisan culture are still part of everyday life, Americans have very few opportunities to see products being made by hand. It is not really an excuse, but it does feel like an unfortunate reality of how disconnected consumer culture has become.
As I walk around Morocco more and more each day, I can’t help but to think about how much potential the country has to offer. It feels like I am investing in a stock before it is about to boom. Think buying bitcoin in 2012. The government feels emotionally invested and connected to the education system, and private organizations that are trying to establish innovation and growth. With the 2030 FIFA World Cup coming to Morocco, the country is already preparing for the inevitable madness it provides. Tourism will increase ten fold, so Morocco must be ready to present itself on one of the world’s biggest stages. Everywhere I walk I see construction of another grand building in progress, almost like you cleaning your room before the cousins come over. I will keep all of this in mind when touring our site visits and preparing for our projects.